Sunday, February 26, 2017

A while ago we did a feature post looking back some memorable moments when stars from Star Wars movies have appeared on the iconic children's TV show Sesame Street. Click here to read it! Since it is still one of the most viewed items we've ever posted it's overdue for a follow-up. Here's MORE Sesame Street visits by Star Wars stars!

Before we knew him as Saw Gerrara in Rogue One, in 2014 Forest Whitaker had some fun with The Count discussing imagination, and all the things that a simple stick could become, with a little creativity. No "Lies, Deceptions!", just imagination:

Another Rogue One star, Diego Luna (Cassian Andor), visited the Spanish-language Sesame Street counterpart Sesame Amigos two times to meet Elmo. Both clips are in Spanish so for those who don't speak the language here's a quick synopsis: In the first scene, Diego asks Elmo for his help to see if he’s expressing his emotions correctly for a movie he's about to film. He plays a sad, happy and angry scene.

In the second
clip Diego and Elmo joke about his last name "Luna" ("moon" in Spanish)
Then they play a game in which Diego tries imitating an animal without
speaking and Elmo has to guess what animal it is. Elmo finally realizes
Diego is trying to imitate a duck. Then Elmo imitates a Lion and Diego
gets it right away because Elmo is a great imitator.

Special thanks to friend and actor Javier Lacroix for translation help!

Fans of comedian/actor/singer Donald Glover are already looking forward to him playing young Lando Calrissian in the upcoming Han Solo movie (due in 2018). Here he is on Sesame Street in 2013 as the "famous" singer LMNOP, parodying the look and name of "Party Rock Anthem" dance music duo LMFAO.

Fun fact: Did you know Donald Glover had a brief appearance in the movie The Muppets?

Poor Kermit!

Before he was famous for creating the Broadway smash hit musical Hamilton or writing & performing the songs "Jabba Flow" & "Dobra Doompa" (the songs the band plays in Maz's castle in The Force Awakens), in 2009 Lin Manuel Miranda played a shifty and manipulative real estate agent trying to convince Big Bird to move to a new habitat. Through rapping he explains the idea of "habitat" and the various options for birds.

Fun fact: Lin Manuel Miranda has made other appearances on Sesame Street as a lamb, and wrote songs for other episodes.

This isn't a clip from Sesame Street itself, but it is a fun short video of actor Jimmy Smits (Bail Organa to Star Wars fans!) with Elmo promoting an upcoming Fourth of July ("Happy Birthday, America!") special on PBS...

Do you remember another Star Wars star on Sesame Street that we haven't discussed here or in the previous article? Comment below!

Monday, February 20, 2017

Rogue One may
be out of most theatres now but will be available on home video on
April 4th (possibly earlier in digital format). Until then here’s a
quick look at some of the Rogue One books to enjoy now, and a few coming soon:

Rogue One
DK Readers Secret Mission (Level 4) – facts & details about the rebellion,
the Empire and more fill this levelled reader for confident, independent
readers, along with plenty of great photos from the movie. Almost like a mini
version of the fantastic Rogue One Ultimate Visual Guide. (DK Books)

Rogue One
Ultimate Sticker Encyclopedia – loaded with images from the movie, this hefty
sticker book features more than 1000 stickers and loads of information for
detail-loving young fans. Some of the aliens and droids barely seen in the film
are much clearer here. 96 pages of Rogue One fun! (DK Books)

Art of
Coloring: Rogue One – part of the popular trend of more “grown-up” style
coloring books, this has 128 pages of black and white line art images depicting
many characters, ships and designs from the movie. The simplified images may
also be helpful to young artists learning to draw the new Rogue One aliens and
droids. (Disney/Lucasfilm Press)

Coming
Soon:

Rogue One
Junior Novel – the entire story of Rogue One in junior novel format will be
available in paperback March 28! Written by novelist and game designer Matt
Forbeck. Includes 8 pages of colour photos.(Disney/Lucasfilm Press)

Guardians
of the Whills – this middle grade novel takes place before Rogue One and
focuses on Chirrut and Baze before they meet Jyn Erso. Written by Greg Rucka
(Before the Awakening, Smuggler’s Run). Available May 2. (Disney/Lucasfilm Press)

Rebel
Rising – a new Young Adult novel focusing on Jyn Erso’s younger days and her
time with Saw Gerrera. Written by Beth Revis. Available May 2. (Disney/Lucasfilm Press)